A Honduran Experience

Today, we all sat in silence as Nora Lopez told her story of the arrest, detention and disappearance of her husband in Honduras. Nora's story began in 1981. She was married to Jose Eduardo Lopez and was raising a family. She was assistant manager of a large hotel and her husband worked during the day and attended school in the evening.

One night in 1981, Jose went to school after work but did not come home. Nora managed to find out that a co-worker had seen him picked up by a police car and taken to DNI (the military intelligence branch). She went to find him but was told he was not there. She went back the next day and worked her way into the holding area and saw her husband in a cell. After continuing to question the security commander she managed to have her husband released but heard that he was marked for death because he read papers that had articles against the government. When released, Jose had severe marks of torture on his body. In 1982 the couple learned that he was on a death squad list and he left for the USA as a refugee. He applied for Canadian refugee status in 1983 but was denied and returned to Honduras to be with his wife and family. On Christmas Eve Jose was abducted and never seen again. Two years later Nora was granted Canadian refugee status after having several attempts on her life. In 1993, Facts Speak For Themselves, gave the details of her husband's abduction and disappearance and named the people responsible.

Nora is now promoting a scholarship fund to help educate Hondurans in a post secondary setting. It is called the Jose Eduardo Lopez Memorial Scholarship. She feels that the best way to change things in her old homeland is to educate its youth. After her presentation, a number of Rotarians made a cash contribution to the fund.